CONSULTATION DRAFT Trawl fishery (Moreton Bay region) harvest strategy: 2021-2026
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Trawl fishery (Moreton Bay region)
harvest strategy: 2021–2026
CONSULTATION DRAFT
1|PageBusiness Unit Owner Management and Reform
Endorsed by Deputy Director General (Fisheries & Forestry) in accordance with delegated
powers under Part 2, Division 1 (Harvest Strategies) of the Fisheries Act 1994
Approved by Minister responsible for fisheries in accordance with section 16 of the Fisheries Act
1994
Revision history Version no. Approval date Comments
1.0 September 2020 Draft harvest strategy for consultation
© State of Queensland, 2020
The Queensland Government supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of its information. The copyright in this
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The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The Queensland Government shall not be liable for technical
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other consequences resulting directly or indirectly from using this information.
2|PageWhat the harvest strategy is trying to achieve
This harvest strategy has been developed to manage trawl fishery resources within the Moreton Bay region.
Current stock levels for key prawn species in the Moreton Bay region are sustainable and effort is below
levels associated with maximum sustainable yield. The Moreton Bay trawl fishery is a multi-species fishery,
with eastern king prawn, tiger prawn and greasy prawn recognised as the principal target species that
controls fishing effort.
The aim of this harvest strategy is to manage fishing mortality through setting of sustainable effort limits at a
level that allows the stock to achieve its biomass targets. For all other retained species effort triggers have
been designed to monitor changes in fishing behaviour or stock trends, and hence optimising economic
yield, while at the same time being precautionary in detecting changes in species composition within historic
catch levels.
Fishery overview
The Moreton Bay otter trawl fishery is a multispecies fishery with the majority of the catch composed of
greasyback prawns (Metapenaeus bennettae), brown tiger prawns (Penaeus esculentus), eastern king
prawns (Melicertus plebejus), squid (Uroteuthis spp., Sepioteuthis spp.) and banana prawns (Fenneropenaeus
merguiensis). Other commercially important byproduct includes blue swimmer crabs (Portunus armatus),
three-spot crabs (Portunus sanguinolentus), cuttlefish (Sepia spp.) and mantis shrimp (Oratosquilla spp.).
Logbook catch and effort data have stabilised over the past 5 years up to 2018 with overall catch from
Moreton Bay around 400t and effort around 4000 days. These levels are well below historical levels for
Moreton Bay.
The total annual value of the Moreton Bay trawl fishery catch, including byproduct, is about $5 million, of
which brown tiger prawns account for about $2 million. Eastern king prawns make up about 10% of the
catch and are mainly caught in the bay from October to December as they migrate to offshore waters
outside the Bay where they contribute to a large mono-specific trawl fishery. Banana prawns typically make
up about 5% of the catch but can exceed 20%, particularly following heavy rainfall.
There is known recreational effort on banana prawns in Moreton Bay using cast nets. The most frequent
interactions between the recreational and commercial sector occurs around the Nudgee Beach area.
Fish stocks covered by the harvest strategy
This harvest strategy manages the Moreton Bay multispecies complex based on the number of permitted
species that can be retained through trawling. Table 1 provides a summary of fish stocks covered by this
harvest strategy.
A significant proportion of the known brown and grooved tiger prawn distribution is protected by areas
closed to trawling. In 2005, an estimated 38% of the brown tiger prawn biomass and 26% of the grooved
tiger prawn biomass occurs within closed areas in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP).
3|PageTable 1: Summary of fish stocks covered by this harvest strategy
Feature Details
Target species Moreton Bay Multispecies Complex: greasyback prawns (Metapenaeus bennettae), brown
tiger prawns (Penaeus esculentus), eastern king prawns (Melicertus plebejus)
Other species Banana Prawns (Penaeus indicus and Penaeus merguiensis), Squid (Photololigo spp)
Permitted trawl species:
• Balmain Bugs
• Blue Swimmer Crabs
• Cuttlefish
• Mantis Shrimps
• Octopus
• Pipefish
• Red Champagne Lobsters
• Slipper lobsters
• Threadfin Bream
• Three Spotted Crabs
Biology Although all three species display similar life cycle characteristics of most Penaeus and
Metapenaeus species their biology differs. The post-larvae of eastern king prawns enter
Moreton Bay with the flood tide during the day and night and settle on seagrass and bare
substrates. Eastern king prawns remain in Moreton Bay for only a number of weeks before
moving seaward to continue to grow, mature, and reproduce offshore. Tiger prawns and
greasy prawns do not undertake significant movements and generally remain in the bay area
where they mature and reproduce. Greasy Prawns are believed to be strongly affected by
environmental factors such as rainfall, river flow, and temperature. In general, catches of
smaller eastern king prawn in Moreton Bay peak in October to November, while catches of
tiger prawns peak in February to March.
Management units for this harvest strategy
Defining the fishery to which a harvest strategy will apply is a critical step in determining its scope. The
management unit for this harvest strategy are as defined by the Fisheries (Commercial Fisheries) Regulation
2019:
• Moreton Bay Trawl Region which covers Moreton Bay and an area north along Bribie Island.
Fishery summary
A summary of the management arrangements for the Moreton Bay trawl region are set out in table 2.
Fishers should consult the relevant fisheries legislation for the latest and detailed fishery rules or visit
www.fisheries.qld.gov.au.
4|PageTable 2: Summary of management arrangements for the Moreton Bay Trawl Region.
Feature Details
Commercial Fisheries Primary Commercial Fishing Licence with a “T1” fishery symbol
symbol
Relevant fisheries Fisheries Act 1994
legislation
Fisheries (General) and (Commercial Fisheries) Regulations 2019
Fisheries Declaration 2019
Other relevant Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 and Regulation 2019
legislation
Marine Parks Act 2004
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and Regulation 2000
Working Group Moreton Bay Region Harvest Strategy Working Group
Terms of Reference and meeting communiques are available online
Gear Otter Trawl
Main management Commercial only
methods
• Primary management method is Individual Effort Units and a total allowable
effort cap for the region
Other management methods include:
• Limited access through Commercial Fishing Boat Licences
• 14m maximum vessel length
• Hull Unit limit of 120 HU
• Gear restrictions such as net length and mesh size
• Spatial and temporal closures including no fishing on weekends
Recreational only
• In-possession (10L) and boat (20L) limits
Fishing year 1 January-31 December
Stock Status Eastern King Prawns and Tiger Prawns are listed as ‘Sustainable’ by SAFS 2018
https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries/monitoring-
compliance/data/sustainability-reporting/stock-status-assessment
Australian fish stocks (SAFS) www.fish.gov.au
*Note the classification system used as part of the SAFS reporting is assessed against a 20% biomass sustainability criteria.
Therefore, although a species may be classified as ‘sustainable’ in SAFS, this does not mean that the biomass is meeting the targets
set out in the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 2017-2027.
Accreditation under the Part 13: Accredited (expires 2020)
Environment Protection
Part 13A: Accredited (expires 2020)
and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 https://www.environment.gov.au/marine/fisheries/qld/east-coast-otter-trawl
5|PageFishery objectives
Fishery objectives set out the aspirations and operational direction for the management of this fishery.
• Maintain the target species in the Moreton bay trawl region at, or returned to, a target spawning
biomass level that aims to maximise economic yield (MEY) for the fishery.
While:
• Minimising and mitigating high ecological risks arising from fishing related activities;
• Maximising profitability for the commercial sector;
• Monitoring the social and economic benefits of the fishery to the community.
• Maintaining sectoral allocations for Moreton Bay Trawl species resources.
Catch shares
This harvest strategy aims to maintain the existing catch shares between sectors. The resource allocation
arrangements are set out in Table 3 below to ensure that catch shares among sectors are maintained in
response to changes in the TACE. The existing resource allocation arrangements (as at 2018) are set out in
table 3 and this harvest strategy will aim to maintain the existing catch shares between the sectors.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples traditional fishing rights are protected under native title
legislation and relate to harvest for domestic, communal and non-commercial purposes. Accordingly,
traditional and customary fishing is not a defined allocation.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples desire more economic opportunities through fishing,
particularly in their own sea country. In line with the Indigenous Commercial Fishing Development Policy, an
Indigenous Fishing Permit may be issued on a case by case basis in accordance with section 54 of the
Fisheries (General) Regulation 2019, to provide opportunities for communities to take part in fishing-related
business.
Table 3: Resource allocation arrangements for the Moreton Bay Trawl Region
Species Commercial Fishing@ Recreational Fishing (including
charter)*
Target species 99% 1%
Banana Prawns 97% 3%
@ Commercial catch data is based on the existing commercial catch level.
* Recreational catch share includes charter fishing is based on information from state-wide recreational fishing surveys.
6|PageManaging performance of the fishery
Performance indicators and reference points for target species
Key indicators measure how healthy the fishery is performing. The indicators relate to the objectives, and
use reference points to establish acceptable performance. The indicators measure the relative amount of
fish biomass of key stock(s) against target and other reference points. The default biomass-reference-points
identified in this harvest strategy are:
• A target reference point (Btarg) of 50% - 60% of the spawning biomass (for key target species) being
the relative biomass level the harvest strategy aims to achieve. This is also considered a proxy
measure of Bmey for the purposes of this harvest strategy;
• A limit reference point (Blim) of 20% of the spawning biomass being the level that the harvest
strategy aims to avoid. If the stock is assessed to be below Blim the risk to the stock is unacceptably
high and the stock is defined as “depleted”.
For key stocks, performance indicators and sustainable harvests for all sectors will be estimated from a stock
assessment. The aim is to measure the capability for the stock to attain the target biomass level (Btarg 50-
60%), and at which point the harvest strategy will be considered as meeting its fishery objectives. As
individual stocks in a multi-species fishery are likely to have differing biological and economic characteristics,
the biomass levels that support Maximum Economic Yield (MEY) will vary according to species. The most
recent assessment Moreton Bay multi-species complex estimated MEY for the fishery (i.e. across all species)
in order to information the TACE. In the absence of updated economic and biological information to inform
MEY for the fishery, a target reference point of 50% - 60% spawning biomass for eastern king prawn, tiger
prawn and greasy prawn will act as a proxy measure for Bmey. This approach is consistent with the
Guidelines for Implementing the Queensland Harvest Strategy Policy and the proposed biomass level of 50 -
60% as a relative abundance proxy for MEY as defined by Punt et al., (2014).
The decision rules for setting a sustainable harvest in the Moreton bay trawl region harvest strategy are
based on a ‘hockey stick’ approach. This is where the Total Allowable Commercial Effort (TACE) is set based
on a linear relationship between Blim, where the level of fishing mortality (F) is equal to zero, and Btarg
where the exploitation rate and TACE is set at the level to achieve MEY (Figure 1). The decision rule takes
into account the current biomass level of the stock for determining the TACE to achieve the Btarg. The
recommended TACE is calculated by applying the rate of fishing mortality to achieve Btarg to the current
spawning biomass level. As a result, the recommended TACE represents the total catch from all sectors
(including discards) that can be harvested in the next three years, to move the current biomass level towards
the target level.
If the spawning biomass falls below the limit reference point (Blim 20%), there will be no more targeted
fishing of the stock until a rebuilding strategy is developed to increase the spawning biomass above the limit
within three generations (where a generation is defined as the average age of full maturity for the fish
species). The rebuilding timeframe of three generation takes into account the productivity and life span of
the fish species. Where the fishery is unable to avoid catching the stock while targeting other species, a low
7|Pagelevel of fishing mortality may be accepted through a nominal bycatch limit and additional management
measures should be considered to prevent further targeting.
Figure 1: showing the “hockey stick” rule, Blim is limit reference point, Bmey is the biomass at MEY, B0 is the unfished
biomass at 100%, F is fishing mortality and Ftarg is the level of fishing mortality for Bmey.
Setting Total Allowable Commercial Effort
The initial TACE cap for Year 1 will be set at EMEY as informed by the most recent Moreton Bay species
complex stock assessment (Wang 2015)1. The total effort level associated with EMEY was estimated at 8550
nights in Moreton Bay. Updating TACE based on a multi-species estimate of MEY in this fishery has been
identified as a priority for informing management under this harvest strategy.
The harvest strategy is also designed to adjust the TACE based new regional fishing power estimates. Fishing
power is updated periodically as part of each stock assessment. When an updated stock assessment
becomes available that indicates the average level of fishing power has changed then TACE will be set at a
level to achieve Btarg.
Management of secondary commercial and byproduct species
For secondary commercial and by product species where biomass is not available as a primary indicator,
catch triggers are used to assess changes in fishing mortality when compared to historic catch levels. Annual
catch levels are assessed against a reference period to detect changes in fishery behaviour that may
represent an unacceptable risk. A fixed reference period from 2017-2019 has been defined for the
commercial fishery. This reference period represents a stable period of operation where catch, effort and
active licences were relatively stable. As the level of exploitation increases above historic levels, species will
be elevated to higher levels of monitoring, assessment and management.
8|PageManagement of target species
Decision rules for target species
The decision rules below have been designed to provide clear guidance to the TACE setting process by
defining how advice should be developed and implemented from stock assessments.
________________________________________________________________________________
1.1 If the biomass is at or above Btarg, set the TACE at a level that maintains biomass at Btarg.
1.2 If biomass is below Btarg and above Blim, the TACE should be set at a level where fishing mortality is
reduced to the rate that allows the biomass to increase effectively back to Btarg.
1.3 If biomass is below Blim, there will be no further targeted fishing for that species, and a rebuilding
strategy will be developed to increase the stock biomass to above Blim within three generations.
1.4 If any new information becomes available indicating that the assessment and TACE-setting
arrangements are not consistent with the sustainable management of the fishery, decision rules must
be reviewed and, if appropriate, the reference points or timeframes should be adjusted.
Notwithstanding that:
1.5 The rate of fishing mortality should not exceed that required to achieve Btarg (i.e. F60) ; and
1.6 The TACE should not exceed the level of fishing mortality required to maintain a stock at MSY.
________________________________________________________________________________
Breakout rules for target species
2.1 If the 3-year average regional effort unit usage is 10 - 25% above the 2019 level, then conduct a review
to investigate the reasons for the increased effort.
2.2 If the 3-year average regional effort unit usage is more than 25% above the 2019 level, then:
- Implement changes to manage effort unit usage if required;
- undertake a stock assessment within 3 months; and
- sets the TACE in accordance with reference points.
2.3 If new information becomes available to suggest that a change to the fishery closure dates should be
made to meet the objectives of the fishery, then the fishery closure dates should be adjusted for the
following season.
2.4 If and when any new information becomes available indicating that the assessment and TACE-setting
arrangements are not consistent with the sustainable management of the fishery, the scientific
method and review rules must be reviewed and, if appropriate, the reference points must be
adjusted.
________________________________________________________________________________
9|PageDecision rules for fishing power adjustments
To ensure that the TACE cap reflect current effort in the fishery, the decision rules allow for adjustment to
the effort cap if a new fishing power estimate becomes available. The new fishing power estimate will be
calculated as the mean change in the most recent five year fishing power estimates.
___________________________________________________________________________
3.1 If no new estimate of fishing power is available, then the existing estimate is applied for the current
season and the TACE adjusted accordingly TACE.
3.2 When a new estimate of fishing power becomes available every 3 years then the Moreton Bay Trawl
Region TACE will be adjusted to the new estimate of fishing power (i.e. an increase in fishing power
will result in a proportional decrease in the TACE).
___________________________________________________________________________
Management of secondary and by-product species
Decision rules for secondary commercial species
The following harvest control rules are to ensure that fishing does not result in unacceptable levels of fishing
pressure on squid, blue swimmer crab or Moreton Bay bugs. The harvest strategy also includes rules to allow
management arrangements to be implemented if an updated biomass estimates becomes available.
________________________________________________________________________________
4.1 If the annual harvest is between 34-65t for squid, 3-12t for Moreton Bay bugs or 5-21t for blue
swimmer crab, then no management action is required.
4.2 If the harvest for two consecutive years is outside of the catch range of 34-65t for squid, 3-12t for
Moreton Bay bugs or 5-21t for blue swimmer crab, undertake a review of the trigger and implement
management changes for the following season to ensure commercial catch of a species does not
increase more than 20% above the upper catch range until a review is completed (e.g. trip limits, size
limits or spatial/temporal closures). If the review identifies sustainability of a species is at risk,
permanent changes to management arrangements such as those detailed above may be implemented
and a stock assessment for this species is required within 3 years.
4.3 If a stock assessment becomes available for squid, blue swimmer crab or Moreton Bay bugs that
indicates a reduction in fishing mortality is required in order to achieve biomass targets then
management action should be undertaken (e.g. trip limits, size limits or spatial/temporal closures).
________________________________________________________________________________
Decision rules for byproduct species
The following harvest control rules are to ensure that fishing does not result in unacceptable levels of fishing
pressure on any byproduct species (i.e. non target or secondary commercial species).
________________________________________________________________________________
5.1 If the three-year average harvest of any species is no more than 10% above the average catch from
2017 - 2019, then no management action is required.
5.2 If the three-year average harvest of any species is more than 10% above average catch from 2017 -
2019, implement management changes (e.g. trip limits, size limits or spatial/temporal closures) to
ensure commercial catch does not exceed 10% above average catch from 2017 -2019 until review is
completed. If the review identifies sustainability of a species is at risk, permanent changes to
management arrangements such as those detailed above may be implemented and a stock
assessment this species is required within 3 years.
________________________________________________________________________________
10 | P a g eMinimising ecological risks from fishing
The foundation of sustainable fisheries management is managing the impact of fishing activities on non-
target species and the broader marine ecosystem. Ecological Risk Assessments (ERA) identify and measure
the ecological risks of fishing activity and identify issues that must be further managed under harvest
strategies. The below decision rules are in place to minimise and mitigate high ecological risks arising from
fishing related activities.
_________________________________________________________________________________
6.1 If an ERA identifies fishing impacts that are considered to generate an undesirable level of risk to any
secondary or bycatch species’ populations, (i.e. high risk) a review is triggered to investigate the
reason for the increased risk. Appropriate management action should be taken to reduce the risk to
an acceptable level.
6.2 If the Moreton Bay Region trawl footprint in any given year is greater than the 2019 footprint, then
undertake a review to identify appropriate management strategies to reduce the risk including options
that reduce the area trawled.
_________________________________________________________________________________
The next ERA is scheduled for 2022. Fisheries Queensland’s Ecological Risk Assessment Guideline is
published online at https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries/sustainable-fisheries-
strategy/ecological-risk-assessment-guidelines.
Future risk assessments will be undertaken periodically to reassess any current or new issues that may arise
in the fishery. Risk assessments can be undertaken more frequently if there are significant changes identified
in fishery operations, management activities or controls that are likely to result in a change to previously
assessed risk levels.
Monitoring the social and economic performance
The Sustainable Fisheries Strategy outlines the target to set sustainable catch limits based on achieving
maximum economic benefits of the resource, taken initially to correspond to around 60% of spawning
biomass. This is to support the most economically efficient use of the resource, improve the fishing
experience for all sectors and promote a resilient system that can bounce back from other adverse
environmental conditions (e.g. floods). The harvest strategy rules have been set up to maintain the stock to
this target biomass level.
The following objectives are to support the social and economic performance of this fishery. The
management options outlined are intended to provide some guidance on the options that could reasonably
be considered if fishery trends are of concern.
11 | P a g eTable 4: social and economic indicators for the Moreton Bay Trawl Fishery
Objective Performance indicators Management options
• Maximising profitability for Potential indicators to monitor include: Consider regulatory and non-
the commercial sector • Capacity utilization regulatory options. Adjust
• CPUE (average per day) management as needed. Options
• Costs, earnings and net financial and include minimum holding, latent
economic profit effort review.
• Effort unit sale and lease price
• Profit decomposition (using profit or
lease price) to determine impacts of
prices, costs and stock/catch rates on
changes in profits
Monitor the broader social and Potential indicators to monitor include: Consider regulatory and non-
economic benefits of the regulatory options. Adjust
fishery to the community • Fisher satisfaction (with their fishing management as needed
experience – commercial and
recreational)
• Percent of effort units/licences that
are owned (rather than leased)
• Gini coefficient of unit owner
(measure of concentration)
• Percent of total costs/inputs
purchased from local
businesses/residents
• Income generated (crew plus profit –
gross value added)
• Proportion of catch sold locally
• Fish prices
• Number of platforms/number of active
licenses/total capacity
• Community satisfaction (with their
fisheries and the way in which they are
managed)
Maintain US TED inspection US Inspection Report Amend management and
program & Section 609 US fisheries legislation as required to
export accreditation align gear controls with
accreditation requirements.
12 | P a g eMonitoring and assessment
The catch and effort data required to inform the take of permitted species is obtained through commercial
logbook returns. The trawl logbook is at https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-
forestry/fisheries/monitoring-reporting/requirements/logbooks
As the Moreton Bay trawl region is an effort-managed fishery, real-time monitoring of effort and catch
disposal records are also required to provide an accurate records of the catch for compliance. All boats in
the Moreton Bay trawl fishery are require to have vessel tracking installed and operational on all primary
vessels to verify fishing effort reported in commercial fishing logbooks. Vessel tracking is used to draw down
effort unit quotas in real time with logbook and catch disposal records used to verify the catches associated
with the effort used.
The catch and effort data required to determine the standardised commercial catch rate for key species are
obtained from catch and effort logbook returns and VMS data. Commercial catch rates are standardised to
account for fishing power along with a range of potential influencing variables.
Fishery independent information
Fisheries Queensland conducts an annual fishery independent pre-recruit trawl survey in Moreton Bay. The
survey samples juvenile eastern king prawn in four important areas of southern Queensland in months when
they are recruiting. Survey results are used in routine stock status assessments and periodic quantitative
stock assessments. The modelled catch rate of recruit prawns found in a survey year strongly correlates with
the inshore eastern king prawn fishery catch rates of that fishing year
Scientific assessment of stock
The most recent assessment work (http://era.daf.qld.gov.au/id/eprint/4549/) was completed in 2013 and
focussed on deriving optimal fishing effort estimates for managing the multispecies component of the
Moreton Bay Trawl Fishery. Estimates are considered to be the best available information and are used in
developing this Harvest Strategy.
Information and research priorities
Key information and research priorities have been identified in Table 5 to help meet the objectives of this
harvest strategy. These will be updated as required.
Table 5: Information and research priorities for the Moreton bay trawl
Project description Explanation of Need Priority
Annual standardised catch rate Essential to measure progress towards biomass High
analysis and reference points for targets and implement proxies between
key species in each region. assessment updates
Regular periodical fishing power Collect information to improve catch rate Medium
surveys standardisation
Bycatch Reduction Device (BRD) To support continued innovation of trawl BRDs High
testing and evaluation program
to support continued innovation
13 | P a g eSchedule of performance assessment and review
The fishery’s performance will be reviewed against this harvest strategy annually. This review will include
convening the annual Moreton Bay Trawl Fishery Working Group in May/June to provide operational advice
on the fishery’s performance and any matters that may need addressing. The primary performance measure
will be spawning biomass, which will be reviewed every three years, with a review of catch and effort data in
intervening years. Table 6 summaries the key review and decision points for the Moreton Bay trawl region.
Table 6: Schedule of performance assessment and review
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Assessment Modelled Catch and Catch and Modelled
Program stock effort effort stock
assessment monitoring monitoring assessment
Management Review TACE, Review of Review of Review TACE, Harvest
Program reference catch and catch and reference Strategy
points & effort data, effort data, points & Review
fishing rules adjust TACE adjust TACE fishing rules
for fishing for fishing
Fishing power Fishing power
power and power and
adjustment is adjustment is
bring forward bring forward
required required
management management
decisions if decisions if
needed needed
The above schedule outlines the expected timeframes that assessment information will be available to
inform management action. There may be instances where an assessment may need to be available prior to,
or delayed beyond the scheduled date. Any change to the schedule should be considered by the working
group and decided on by the chief executive based on the below conditions:
• If during the period between scheduled stock assessments the chief executive is concerned that a
performance indicator (e.g. stock status, length frequency distributions, standardised commercial catch
rates, total harvest, age distributions etc.) suggests that the stock is not performing in a way that will
achieve the target biomass level, the chief executive may decide that a stock assessment will be
undertaken before the scheduled timeframe.
• If the chief executive is satisfied that; (1) indicators for the stock suggests that it is achieving, or
rebuilding to, target biomass levels, and that there is a low ecological risk to the stock under the current
management arrangement (i.e. TAC levels); (2) or if resourcing requirements prohibit the ability for an
assessment to be delivered in the scheduled timeframe, the chief executive may decide that a scheduled
stock assessment will be delayed.
Schedule of review
The fishery’s performance will be reviewed annually against this harvest strategy.
While harvest strategies provide certainty and transparency in terms of management decisions in response to
fishery information, there has to be flexibility to allow new information or changing circumstances to be
14 | P a g econsidered. This harvest strategy will remain in place for a period of five (5) years, after which time it will need
to be fully reviewed.
The harvest strategy may also be subject to further review and amendment as appropriate within the five-
year period if the following circumstances arise:
• There is new information that substantially changes the status of a fishery, leading to improved estimates
of indicators relative to reference points; or
• Drivers external to management of the fishery increase the risk to fish stock/s; or
• It is clear the strategy is not working effectively and the intent of the harvest strategy policy is not being
met.
Further explanation and information on the processes for amending harvest strategies can be found in the
Queensland Harvest Strategy Policy and Guidelines, published at https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-
priorities/fisheries/sustainable-fisheries-strategy/harvest-strategy.
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